Associates of Benjamin Netanyahu keep repeating the talking points that as long as the Israeli prime minister has not been indicted and nor proven guilty, he enjoys the presumption of innocence. Indeed, only Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit can decide whether to translate the police findings that Netanyahu accepted bribes into an indictment. However, even if Mandelblit decides to trash the results of the police investigations, he will be unable to deodorize the stench they give off. That odor will not be cleared even if the court accepts Netanyahu's version that constant supplies of champagne, cigars and jewelry from wealthy businessmen estimated at 1 million shekels ($288,000) were simply gifts from close friends.
Police recommended the indictment of Netanyahu in two cases: Case 1000 for allegedly receiving bribes from businesspeople, and Case 2000 for allegedly plotting a deal with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes for positive coverage. Police also continue to investigate alleged wrongdoing involving the Bezeq communication company in Case 4000. But revelations about these files also expose another serious dimension: the Likud Party leader's plan to take control of Israel's media, culture and information. In essence, the really major gifts Netanyahu demanded from his wealthy benefactors, a few of which he managed to receive, were in fact paths to the hearts and minds of Israel's voters. The cigar smoke and alcohol fumes blur his plot to dismantle the central pillars of Israel's democracy — freedom of information and expression, an independent media and a combative press.
